


loving you had consequences

by cherryontop (doublecherry)



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017), Riverdale (TV 2017) RPF
Genre: ArchieRonnie, Drama, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Love, Multi, angry archie, bitchy Veronica, cute sometimes, varchie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-08
Updated: 2018-10-04
Packaged: 2019-07-08 15:57:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 19,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15933719
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doublecherry/pseuds/cherryontop
Summary: When Archie loses his father, he's sure that life has no meaning at all. He's sure that life has some twisted and evil plan to take everyone who he loves away from him. In order to not feel anything, he does the last thing that he should do. He shuts it all down, all the emotions. He becomes numb to it, it is only when he gets transferred to one of the most finest school in New York, and he meets the girl with the black raven hair, that everyone fears so much, that he finally feels again. But the fear of losing someone again, is stronger than the feeling of finally belonging with someone.





	1. the start of a new life

The last few months had been rough, even though Archie hated to admit it. It had been exhausting and draining, everyday felt like he was just a walking zombie in everyones world. Everyday someone asked him how he was doing, he was told that he was so strong and that he should keep being strong. School had been a nightmare, he got into fights everyday, he loved the rush he got when he hit someone, the feeling of not knowing what was next. Feeling the other persons fists connect with his jaw, there was something about that. It sounded crazy, but he felt alive in that moment. He would go out on the streets for someone to mess with, and some weekends when he really needed to numb the pain, he drank all the sorrow away. It was sad and pathetic, he had turned into everything that his father would've hated.

 

The funeral had been a distaster, the sight of his relatives crying made his stomach turns. Some of his aunts couldn't even look at him, they thought they were too alike and that was even more sad. His aunt Melissa pulled him into several hugs and told him that everything was going to be fine. None of it felt real to him.

 

It didn't feel real. It didn't feel real when they all came to his house to help prepare for the funeral, it didn't feel real when he saw and heard everyones speech. It didn't feel real when he was saying his last words to his father. It didn't feel real when he watched as they buried his father.

 

The night of his fathers funeral was when he started to drink, and he started to like the burning in his throat after every sip.

 

He heard someone say that this must be so hard for him, that he has to relive this again, but it wasn't. Archies mother passed away when he was only four years old, he can't remember much of her. He doesn't remember her funeral or anything like that. He does remember how sad his father was, and how much his father loved to mention her name. His mother dying when he was in such a young age, made it easier for him to cope with it. He couldn't miss someone he didn't remember. He didn't think of her much anymore, he used to when he was just a little kid. Especially during Mother's day, every other kid in his grade would craft those little cards and bring them home. He would go with his father and pick out the most beautiful flowers, and then they would go to his mothers tomb.

 

Somehow he wished that his fathers death would've been like that. He wished that his father would've been just a stranger to him, that he had no memories of him. That way he wouldn't be hurting the way that he should be hurting. His father had been everything to him, a mother and a bestfriend. The only way that Archie figured that he could survive this, was by shutting everything off. He didn't want to feel anymore, he didn't want to feel the hurt, the anxiety building up, he pushed all the thoughts about this away. He couldn't stop thinking that if only for a few seconds, he would've opened his eyes again, then maybe, instead of his father laying in that casket, he would. He wanted to be the one laying in there, his father didn't deserve that.

 

The only thing distracting himself from everything happening was, his music, and his aunt and uncle arguing over custody. He had caught them countless times in the kitchen arguing back and forth, of course they both stopped mid-sentence everytime he walked in to grab a glas of water.

 

Today was just one of those days, it was less than five days left for school and his uncle had ended up winning custody over him, not that he was complaining. Archie loved uncle FP, and he loved his cousin Jughead, he was quiet and kept mostly to himself. Jughead was the only one not forcing any conversation between them and he loved it. He needed some normal in the middle of this hurricane.

 

He was just on his way into the kitchen when he heard both Fp's and Melissas voices, they were both speaking on each other and he had a hard time trying to figure out what they were saying. He leaned into the wall, and when they both went silent, he thought he had been caught. He peeked in, to get a look of them, but they were both too invested in their conversation to even notice him.

 

  
”Graduating from Spence, will open all the doors for him! He will have the option to choose what ever ivy league college, he wants to!” Fp was a stubborn one, he didn't like being pushed around by Melissa. He had made up his mind, and he wasn't going to let Archie slip out of his hand.

 

Melissa sighed and rolled her eyes at him, she always did this when she was preparing for the storm that was her brother, ”He's been through so much already. I don't want to put him in a school with people who think they're better than him.. You know how those snobby rich kids are, come on.” She said, trying to keep her voice as low as possible to not let Archie hear them.

 

But he was standing right behind the walls, listening to them deciding his fate.

 

”What do you mean by that? May I remind you that my son, Jughead, goes to Spence? And he's far from a cruel rich kid.” He said, his voice harsh. ”It doesn't matter what school we put him in, reality is that those mean girls cliques exists everywhere.” He added.

 

”Jughead is like the only exception! He's only humble and down to earth because you've made him that way. You make him work for everything, those other kids get it served. What's the name of that one kid that was bullying Jughead just a few years back? The one that threw his beanie into the toilet and told him to pick it up with his mouth?”

 

Archie raised an eyebrow at the short story he had just heard, what the hell?

  
”Veronica Lodge.” Fp sighed. ”That little.. I have to keep reminding myself that she's just a little girl.” He said. ”That situation is solved, she hasn't done anything to Jughead in years now. Not all the kids at Spence are like that.” He argued.

 

Melissa snorted, ”But she is like that, and I don't want Archie around kids like that. Jughead is a very bright kid, and I love him with all my heart, but don't you think that if you would've sent him to a.. Public school, that he would have more friends? Be more social?” She said, it sounded like she was tossing around the subject. Careful not to step on that one spot that would make her brother turn over the table.

 

”Jughead likes being by himself, and he has friends. But this isn't about Jughead.” Fp went back to the real subject. ”I'm offering Archie a good school, an opportunity to make something out of his life. Don't take that away from him.” His voice sounded soft, and if Archie could see his face right now, he would be sure that his eyes would be big and full of hope. His father always used to say that Fp could convience anyone with those eyes.

 

Those must've been the words that defeated aunt Melissa. After they had diner, and Archie was going to bed, he heard the door open and behind it was Jughead, and ironically he was wearing that grey beanie. He leaned into the wall, his hand playing with the gold necklace.

 

Archie wondered if it was the same beanie that the mean girl had threw into the toilet. His curious side wanted to ask if he picked it up with his mouth, but he figured that the poor boy had enough trouble with the kids. He didn't need a reminder.  


  
”So.. Dad just gave me the news that you're going to Spence after summer.” His eyes were glued to the floor, as if he was scared that Archie would beat him up for looking at him.

 

The words coming out ot his beloved cousin, didn't seem that bad. He could rebuild himself, create a whole other identity. No one knew him, and he didn't have a reason to let them know him either.

 

”Yeah, I guess.” Archie answered coldly, normally he would've continued the conversation, he would've been polite and asked his cousin how he felt about it, but caring about others didn't seem to end up well for him.

 

Jughead nodded, ”I think you'll like it more than I do.” He said, his voice was soft. His eyes were still glued to the floor. ”You should try out for the football team.” He said quietly.

 

”You know I'll beat someones ass if they pick on you, right?” Archie said, he caught the black haired boy smile softly at the ground. He rarely saw his cousin smiling. ”How's Spence?” He asked, his curious side got to him again.

 

Jughead walked into the big room and closed the door behind him. He sat down by the end of the big bed and stared into the wall behind Archie. ”I can't even describe it.” He said, sounding honest. ”It's like they put all the horrible people in the same place, and then choose some poor souls for them to torture.” He said. There was a tiny hint of a joke in there, but Archie couldn't laugh.

 

Archie rolled his eyes at the poor describtion he had gotten, ”Sounds like a great place.” He mumbled to himself.

  
”They'll like you though. Especially if you try out for the football team.” Jughead said in an attempt to cheer him up. ”You're a peoples person, you know?” His cousin smiled softly at him, letting his hair fall down to his face before he pushes it back with his hand.

 

Archie had heard that about him many time, he was loved by most people in his small-town, he was always helping people, always making small-talk and he always cracked some corny jokes. He liked being in crowds, liked hanging out and getting to know people, but these past months had really made him think otherwise. He didn't like small-talk anymore, he thought it was annoying. Just get to the point. He didn't like cracking corny jokes, they weren't funny for a reason. He didn't like spending time with people, they gave him headaches.

 

”No, I don't.” Archie answered, watching Jugheads every movement, it must've made him uncomfortable, because Jughead did that thing when he scratches the back of his hand. Archie noticed it as kids that it was something he did when he was nervous or uncomfortable, when he didn't know how to respond or react.

 

Jughead bit the bottom of his lip and got up from the bed, ”Anyways,” He cleared his throat. ”If you have any questions about the school or anything, I'm in the room upstairs.” He said before walking over to the door. ”Goodnight, Arch.”

  
The nickname made his heart skip a beat, the only person who really called him that was his father, and he hadn't heard it in months. ”Archie.” Archie corrected him quickly. ”Don't call me that. It's Archie.” His voice was cold and harsh, and his face expression blank.

  
”I'm sorry.” Jughead mumbled. ”Goodnight, Archie.” He said, walking out the door and closing it gently.

 

When Jughead closed the door, and his heart finally managed to find the right way to beat, he gathered all his thoughts. He played with the thought of being someone else for a change, the people at his new school had no idea who he was. He could make up a whole different character and play it as he wanted to. They wouldn't suspect a thing. He could get an escape from reality.

 

There was no need for him to be, "Poor little Archie who lost both his mother and father." He could break that curse. He could finally be free from everyones pity.


	2. don't kiss & tell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> She pushes him back and continues swinging her hips to the rhytm of the music. She dances for herself and doesn't care who's watching. Her black shiny hair falls to her shoulders and he loves the way it moves with her. Her pearl necklace looks beautiful on her tanned skin, her eyes are dark but when the lights hit them, they look like a soft color of brown.

It's the weekend before school starts, and he doesn't feel nervous or excited. He tries to make himself feel something, even just a tiny bit of excitment, but there isn't anything there. Ever since his father died, everything just feels grey for him. There is no black or white, he can't put it into words. He's there, but he isn't. It's like he can see everyone around him moving on with their lifes, and he's still stuck at Pop's holding his dead father in his arms. He feels like time stopped ever since that happened.

The dinning room is bigger than his house back in Riverdale, and its beautiful decorated. The walls are white, theres a big sparking chandelier hanging from the roof. He's noticed they have a lot of them, the biggest of them is in the hall, right when you enter the house. It's hanging between the two stairs. There's white candles with golden candle-holders on the table. The maid is extra careful when she lights them, she gives Archie a kind smile before she leaves to walk into the kitchen and bring out the food. The glases standing on the big white table look to be made out of crystals, and the cutlery have a golden color.

Archie is almost done with his dinner when he finally catches up to the conversation between his uncle and his cousin. He watches the way Jughead rolls his eyes at his father, how he pushes his eyebrowns together to show disagreement in what ever his father just said.  
  
”I'm not going.” Jughead sounds like a whiny teenager, and it almost makes Archie laugh, but just almost.

Fp mumbles something under his breathe, and Archie could almost swear that he heard him curse out his beloved son. ”Why not?” He asks, the way he plays with the fork in his hands, gives out that he's getting annoyed with his son.

  
”Because.” Jughead starts, putting down both his knife and fork, looking like he's getting ready to go into war. ”It's a stupid party, for stupid kids. Shouldn't you be happy that I'm staying home? I'm choosing to not drink and do drugs.” Jughead almost sounds proud over himself.

”Lame.” Archie comments, and he notices that this is the first time that he has even engaged in any conversation during this dinner.

”What's lame? The party or staying home?” Fp asks, ”You better get this one right.” He adds, clearly joking, but Archie can tell how desperate the poor father is to get his son out into the world.

Archie looks at them both, he finds it very entertaining how Jughead is giving him the, 'don't let me down now.' look and so is his father. They're alike in many ways, even though they both would disagree with his statement. Archie takes his glas with water into his hand, ”Staying at home.” He finally says before taking a sip from his water. ”What's so bad about this party?” He asks.

Fp smiles big and nods in agreement, ”Thank you, Archie.” He says, the smile on his lips keeps growing bigger, Archie almost finds it creepy, but he understands him.

Jughead sighes deeply, he takes his fork again and start poking his food with it, ”I don't like the people from my school, and even if I went, I don't have a date, and  _everyone_  has a date!” He makes it sound more dramatic than it is, the way he drags out his words and how he moves when he talks.

”So ask someone then.” Archie says, raising an eyebrow. ”What's the name of that blonde girl that's always around and that makes me want to poke my eyes out?” He asks. The blonde girl that somehow always ends up here, who's always having a bright and big smile on her lips. She's always excited about something, and her voice makes Archies ear bleed.

The old Archie would've loved her, he would've loved how alive and perfect she looked. But the new Archie wants to pull out her tongue so she can let him breathe.

Jughead tilts his head to the side, ”Betty? No.. I mean... She's going.. But.. No.. I...” He frowned as he spoke, looking more concerned than anything.

  
”Get to the point, I can't understand this alien language.” Archie interrupts him.

Jughead rolls his eyes at him, ”I can't ask her.” He simply answers. ”It would be weird for our friendship, and I'm sure she has a date.” The boy sighs deeply.

”Stop being so scared of everything, just ask her if she's going tonight..”

”She is.” Jughead fills in.  
”Okay, so tell her you guys should go together,  _as friends._ ” Archie says, dragging out his words and moving his hands dramatically in the air just like Jughead was doing a couple of seconds ago.

”No, no, no, if Jughead is going, then you're going too.” Fp says strictly. ”You've been locked in your room the whole summer, besides this event is for everyone at Spence, and since you're attending that means you have an invitation aswell.” Fp get up from his chair and smiles at both boys. ”I have to leave now, but I expect an empty house when I'm back.” He leaves the dining room.

…

”It's going to be so much fun!” Bettys over excited voice fills the big house as she wanders around with a glas of red wine. Archie can see the way Jugheads eyes follows Bettys glas, the way she waves it around makes him anxious. Archie doesn't care, but he knows that redwine is hard to get out of things and the white carpet isn't an exception.

Betty seems clueless as she continues, ”I think Archie will like Midge a lot, she's a little grumpy like you.” She smiles at him, and even though Archie knows she doesn't mean it in a mean way, he can't help but picture stuffing her mouth with socks so she finally shuts up.

”Getting brave, Betts.” Jughead says, clearly catching up to Archies thoughts or maybe he's referring to the way she's so boldly waving around and spinning around. He gets behind the mini-bar and takes out two martini glasses. He takes out a bottle, that Archie has never seen before and pours it into the glasses.

Archie thinks back to when he was a child and he used to come over here for summer, how Jughead and him loved to run behind Fp's mini-bar and how upset he would get when he would catch them playing with all different bottles and glasses. They weren't allowed behind the mini-bar until they turned fourteen, that was the first time Archie had tasted alcohol. He didn't like it.

Archie runs a hand through his hair and looks at the both of them, standing behind the bar. Jughead is too concentrated on his witch mix to pay any notice to how close Betty is standing to him. ”So, what kind of party is this?” He asks.

It looks like he might've asked Betty for her hand by the way she looks up with her big blue eyes, ”It's not any party, it's  _the_  party.” She says dramatically, waving her free hand in the air.

”You and Jughead must get along pretty well, both of you are so dramatic.” He says with all honesty, he gets up on his feet and walks over to the bar. ”What's so special about it?”

”Nothing, people just like to dress up and get drunk.” Jughead hands him over the drink.

”I do admit, I love dressing up.” Betty says, taking her drink and taking a sip. She closes her eyes hard and shakes her head when she gets a taste of it, ”What is this?” She asks.

  
Jughead shrugs, ”I don't know, but you shouldn't drink, you've had enough wine.”

”You're no fun, Jones.” Betty giggles, putting her hand on his shoulder and moving closer to him.

”I'm still here.” Archie says looking at the soon-to-be couple.

”Sorry.” Betty says, her cheeks turning into a light color of red, and Archie actually thinks she looks pretty when it does. ”This party is basically the party everyone waits for all year, well this and Veronica Lodge christmas party. You have to get a personal invitation to that, but anyways. You have to be a fool to miss the 'Don't Kiss & Tell' party.” She gives Jughead a playful look before she continues, ”It's held in one of New York's most popular clubs, and everyone is always fighting to get the VIP tables, but don't worry boys! Midge and I got that cleared up ages ago.” She smiles proudly.

Archie nods and listens as the blonde girl goes on, the party itself doesn't sound like something special. It's basically just spoiled brats wanting to impress each other with stories of where they've been during summer, it's about showing who has more money. Back in his old school, no one bothered to impress anyone this much, or maybe he just didn't notice. He has never been the one to care about peoples money or the things they own, its all temporarily anyways.

”The limo is here!” Betty pulls him out of his thoughts with her words. She takes the little chanel bag and walks out of the livingroom. ”Are you coming?” She shouts.

Jughead gives Archie a look, ”This is our last chance to stay home.” He says pouting with his lip. His cheek have this red-ish color to them, and Archie already knows that his cousin is going to get drunk pretty fast.

”No way, this is your chance to make a move on Betty.” Archie says, he takes a last sip of his drink before walking towards the hall. Jughead may be a fool, but it was clear to Archie that the blonde girl was into him, the way she played with her hair between her fingers when she spoke to Jughead, how she leaned closer to him, how she just had to touch his hair and acted so playful with him.

It reminded him about the way he used to act with his ex. Well, the way she used to act around him, she loved teasing and she was always in a playful mood. She was the only girl who he let play with his hair. Sometimes he missed her, even when he had turned everything off, his mind wandered to her. But a girl who cheats, isn't something he should be missing.

Jughead walks besides him and mumbles a couple of bad words, it makes Archie want to laugh again, but he can't. He hasn't been able to smile or laugh in months, and it feels nice. Archie grabs his coat and walks outside the big house. The limousine is standing right infront of him, and he wonders how it got passed the gate but figures that Jughead must've opened it when he wasn't paying attention.

  
”Hurry!” Betty says, opening the door and getting in.

Jughead rolls his eyes and walks over to the limousine, he gets in and to Archies suprise he hears several peoples voices in there. He wasn't told that they were riding with other people.

  
”You live here?” He hears a suprised girls voice, followed by two male voices.

  
”Damn, it's big!” the two male voices says in unision.

Archie gets in the limousine last and the first thing he notices, is how big it is. He has never been in one before, and he didn't know that there was supposed to be champagne and glasses everywhere. The second thing he notices is how quiet it gets, he sees how the rest of their company stares at him with big eyes.

”This is my cousin Archie.” Jughead introduces him to the small crowd of people sitting and staring at him like he's some sort of alien, and he does feel like one. This doesn't feel like him, not at all, he feels lost and insecure all of a sudden, and he's never been the type to feel insecure.

”This is, Midge, Kevin and Moose.” Jughead says.

”You never told us you had such a handsome cousin.” The girl with short brown hair, who he assumed was Midge says. ”Are you staying for long?” She asks with a soft voice. Something about her green-blue eyes makes her look kind.

”He lives here.” Jughead answers for him, he figured that Archie probably didn't want to talk much. And he was right.

Midge gives out a brief laugh, ”There's no need for you to be shy around us. We're harmless.” She gives him a reassuring smile before she takes one of the many un-opened champagnes.

”Do you like it here?” One of the boys, who has blue eyes asks him.

Archie can't remember if that's Kevin or Moose, ”It's okay, I guess.” He answes shortly.

”You'll get used to the rude people here.” The boy says in an attempt to a joke, and it works for everyone in the limousine, except Archie. He just forces a smile to him, which probably look like he's being tortured.

The ride to the party feels long and he already feels drained by the forced conversation in the limousine, he analyzed them all on the way there. He noticed that both Midge and Betty are wearing short dresses, that are almost showing too much, but who is he too judge anyways? The cleavage is deep on both of them, their tits are almost up to their chin and it makes him uncomfortable. Bettys hair is curled perfectly, falling down right below her chest and Midges hair is short but straight.

The boys don't look special, everyone basically has the same expensive clothes on, the only thing that makes it look like they've actually spent time on their looks is their hair. The boys with blue eyes has so much wax in his hair it makes Archie scared. He didn't do much to his hair, blowdry it. Jughead spent more time, but it doesn't even look like it.

The girls made sure to pop the champagnes and turn up the music, they poured the champagne into glasses and happily cheered for their new school year, they all seemed so happy in that moment, even Jughead seemed to be having the time of his life. Archie noticed they were all pretty tipsy when they all, except Archie, started to giggle at everything they were saying. Jughead was having some trouble with saying some words and that's when Archie took the glas out of his hand.

When they finally arrive at the club, Archie is the first one to step outside and he's almost blinded by the flashes of the cameras outside. He looks over to the red carpet to see who's the IT-girl that they're taking pictures of, but as soon as he turns around to see, the mysterious girl walks into the club, followed by a crowd of girls and boys. He looks around and see the line of people standing to wait, he mumbles something to himself, curses himself for even coming here tonight. By the time that line is done, it's going to be time to head home.

”Come on.” Betty smiles at him, she walks over to the guard, she says something to him and he lets them all in. The cameras are all still taking pictures. It suprises him that they don't check for ID's. They don't look to be in the right age, but no one says anything.

”Smile for the camera, Elizabeth!” He hears one of the camera man shout at her.

Betty blows him a kiss and walks into the club, she takes Jugheads hand and Archies notices the confused look on his cousin face. That makes him laugh, he looks terrified of her.

”Ms. Cooper?” A girl comes up to them. ”We have your table ready, follow me.”

Archie follows them and looks around the enormous club, there's two levels. The one upstairs looks more fun, he thinks. The stairs light up in a blue color, the lights are switching color to the rythm of the music and he likes it. Everyone upstairs are dancing and laughing, there's a dance-floor and it's filled with people. He's looking around and analyzing his surronding when he hears a girl behind him,

”Can you move faster?” Her voice sounds obnoxious and irritated. He turns around to see who it is, the girl has long red hair, her lips are full, she's colored them red. It suits her, he thinks. ”Are you deaf?” She rolls her dark brown eyes at him, before she pushes him to the side to walk upstairs. The dress she's wearing is tight to her body, it's red too and so are her heels. He isn't suprised at the lenght of her dress, ever since he walked in here, he's seen every girl in those tiny-dresses, that leaves nothing for the imagination.

”That's Cheryl Blossom, or as she calls herself. Cheryl Bombshell.” Jughead says into his ear. Jughead doesn't seem to be a fan of her, the way his eyes turn dark when she passes by him.

Archie follows her with his eyes, curious to see which clique she belongs to. He sees her walking over to the big clique he saw entering the club right before him. They're a big group but his eyes wanders to one of the most gorgeous girls he's ever laid his eyes on.

She caught his attention by the way she was dancing, how she moves with so much confidence, she dances like nobody is watching- although he's sure that everyone is watching her. Everyone at their booth are watching her, he sees how one of the boys gets up and tries getting a dance with her. She shakes her head and a playful smile appears on her lips. She pushes him back and continues swinging her hips to the rhytm of the music. She dances for herself and doesn't care who's watching. Her black shiny hair falls to her shoulders and he loves the way it moves with her. Her pearl necklace looks beautiful on her tanned skin, her eyes are dark but when the lights hit them, they look like a soft color of brown. She isn't just standing out by the way she moves, she isn't wearing what any girl is wearing. She's wearing a black heartshaped tight dress, it falls right abover her knees and it shows off her curves and tiny waist perfectly. He notices that she's wearing a sparking bracelet when the light hits it and it shines like nothing he's ever seen before. He's amazed by her.

She looks so full of life and happy in that moment. She's smiling and laughing with her friends, not having a care in the world. He finds himself enjoying the view, just like any other would if they could see her. She has a certain light about her, she looks like the kind of person who's always having fun and enjoying herself. Someone must've told her that he was staring at her, because she suddenly turns around and for just a second their eyes meet. She blows him a kiss before she turns around again with her friends, they're all laughing.

Archie suddenly wakes up from the trans he was in, he shakes his head- like in a way he's shaking her off him. He catches up with his own group and a part of him is a little bit disappointed when he notices that they're sitting on the opposite side from the girl who's dancing.

”Isn't this great?” Betty has to shout to let him hear her. A couple of girls walk into their area, all holding champagne bottles that contain a candle by the side, all sparkling. They come in with two big bottles of vodkas, and redbulls everything really. He notices the camera man taking countless pictures of them, the flash burns into his eyes each time.

Archie has never been clubbing before, but this has his amazed. The girls take one of the sparkling candles and dance with them, he watches their movements, they're not like the girl he just witnessed dancing like her life depended on it. Jugheads arm is around Bettys waist, he's pulling her closer and Archie is almost sure they're going to kiss in any moment.

”Come on, man!” Moose hits him lightly on the arm. ”Let looose!” He takes one of the glasses that's standing on their table and gives it to Archie. ”There's tons of girls here, and a guy like you, will find someone.” He blinks at him.

Archie takes the glas and drinks it up in one sip. If he's going to survive this night he has to drink and catch up with his ”friends”. It goes fast, it's a drink after drink, a shot after shot, and by the end of his sixth shot he's having a hard time feeling his fingers. There it is again, the numb. This is why he loved to drink so much a couple of months ago, it made him numb to everything, and for a moment he found himself enjoying the time, just like he was right now.

”Let's go to the dance-floor!” Midge says, her make up was all smudged, she kind of looked like a racoon but Archie didn't care. He nodded and took her hand in his as he walked out of their VIP section and over to the dance-floor that was full with people. He had to squeeze himself through the people to find the right place for him and Midge to dance on.

Archie wasn't much for dancing, he didn't really know how to dance but in this moment he didn't care how foolish he looked, he was having fun and enjoying himself. Enjoying the music and maybe enjoying the people he was with. He felt Midges arms around his neck, her fingers playing with his hair, part of him wanted to push her away, but then there was that careless part of him. They danced together for a good while, when Midge finally let go of him, she found another dance partner and it didn't take long until he saw her tounge down his throat. Countless girls came up to Archie, all trying to dance with him, he caught some girls trying to catch him attention but he didn't care about any girls here. He ended up making out with a girl, he couldn't even remember what her face looked like, but right after that he looked after Midge and went back to their friends.

”Enjoying yourself, Andrews?” Kevin askes, his eyes are blodshot and Archie wonders if it's the alcohol or if they've been taking other things.

Archie nods and sits down, ”This is crazy!” He says.

Kevin chuckles and nods in agreement, ”Yeah, too bad it's over soon.”

Archie had been so distracted by everything that he hadn't even realized the time. It felt like time had gone by to quick, he was just taking shots left and right to get drunk and now they were leaving in twenty minutes. He didn't want it to end, he wanted to be stuck in this moment forever, in the music, in the dancing and the intoxication.

”I'm going to the bathroom first.” He tells Kevin as he gets up. ”I'll meet you guys outside.” Kevin nods as an answer and then turns to Moose to tell him something.

Archie walks out of their small area and heads for the stairs. Everything is spinning for him, he's having a hard time seeing straight, it looks kind of blurry, but not enough for him to fall. He walks down the stairs carefully and slow, maybe too slow but it doesn't matter. When he finally reaches the end of the stairs he looks around the crowded room for a sign that says, ”TOILETS”. He's lucky enough that he sees the blue neon signs across the room, he pushes between people to get there.

No line. He opens the door for the boys toilet and notices the stalls, he also notices the voices in the last stall. It's a boys and a girls. He can hear giggle and kissing noise, he shrugs and is about to enter his stall when he hears their conversation.

”Nick..” The girls voice sounds intoxicated and he can tell she's having a hard time finding the words.

”Stop being a tease.” The boys voice sounds playful and he hears the girl giggle again.

”You know I'm nooot..” She drags out the words and he hears them going back to kissing.

Archie thinks about leaving the toilet, it seemed like they were having an intimiate moment and he didn't want to be a creep and listen to them, as he's opening the door he hears the girls voice again.

”Nick stop.. No..” It sounds playful but it's alarming for him.

”Stop, I told you to stop!” She almost screams at him.

”You wanted this! Don't play like you're too fucking good for me!”

”Nick please! Stop! I don't want to!”

Archie doesn't even think twice before he rushes into the last stall, as soon as he heard the girl cry for help he feels himself getting sober, he pushes his body weight onto the door to slam it open, ”Get off her!” He pulls the boy with curly hair out of the stall and pushes him into the wall. ”Don't you know what no fucking means?” He's quick to connect his fist with his jaw. The boy falls onto the bathroom floor.

Archie turns around to the girl, she's standing frozen, her eyes are scared and he notices that her hands are shaking, ”Come on, I'll walk you out.” He hands out his hand and she's quick to grab it.

”I will end you! Do you know who I am? Veronica I will make you pay!” He shouts after them as they leave the bathroom.

Archie guides her through the crowd and walks her out of the club, ”Are you okay?” He asks worried, and it isn't until now that he notices who the girl is. It's the same girl from upstairs, the one that was dancing, and the boy in the toilet was the boy she pushed away when she was dancing.

”Yeah.. I'm..” She fumbles with her words. ”I'm sorry you had to get in between that, I don't..”

”Hey,” Archie stops her, he can hear how shaky her voice is and he doesn't want her to blame herself for what happened. ”Don't apologize to me.” He says. ”Are you okay? Did he hurt..”

”No.” She quickly answers, shaking her head. ”Thank you, really..”

”Veronica!” He hears a girl scream right behind them, its the same obnoxious and irritating voice he heard before. ”Let's go! Our limo is here.” She says walking past Archie.

Veronica nods, ”I'll be there in a sec.” She says dismissing Cheryl. Her eyes go back to Archie, she's just about to say something when Jughead comes up and pulls Archies arm.

”We're leaving.” Jughead says, he's eyes wander over to Veronica and he makes a face, ”Now.” He says shortly.

Archie is about to say something, but he notices that the girl with raven hair has already started to walk towards her friends, he looks back to Jughead and follows him to the cab.

”Why were you with  _her?_ ” Jughead says, sounding disgusted. He doesn't even look Archie in the eyes, instead he looks out the window as the car moves.

”We ran into each other.” Archie lies, he figures that no one needs to know the real reason, she probably wouldn't want it that way. If this had been four months ago, it would've been clear that he was lying, but it isn't. He's become a master at hiding the truth and his feelings from everyone.

Jughead looks at him for a few seconds in silence, studies his face to find something that gives him out, but there isn't anything, ”Just stay away from her, Archie.” He says, and this time he doesn't sound as harsh as he did outside. ”She's bad news.” He speaks from experience.

Archie nods, gives him the look that he understands, ”I will stay away from her.” He promises his cousin.

Maybe if Archie would've known how important the girl full of life would become for him, he wouldn't had made that promise. Maybe if he could've stayed away from her after this, then maybe things wouldn't had turned out the way it did.

But life has a cruel way of playing with him, and this was far from the end of his encounters with Veronica Lodge.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I've worked on this chapter for soo long, editing it and putting in some more, and after hours I feel done with it. I hope you enjoy it!
> 
> If you want to chat about riverdale, varchie or anything really, feel free to message me on tumblr; ronniespearl  
> I have a twitter too: @ ronniesdiary


	3. a secret worth keeping

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The light hits her face perfectly when she says it, her dark eyes turn into a beautiful color of golden brown and her hair looks lighter, more full of life, her lips are a light color of red and her lipstick looks a little bit smudged, in this moment she looks and feels real to him, and it's been awhile since he's been able to tell reality from fantasy.
> 
> He doesn't like it, not at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I feel like this chapter is a little bit boring, but it focuses more on varchie and the beginning of their dynamic

It's only seven am when Archie looks himself in the mirror for what feels like the millionth time, he studies his face and the way he looks in the school uniform. He had tried it on before, once, and it didn't feel strange to him, nor did it look so weird to him. But today, on his first day of school, something felt off. He felt uncomfortable in it. He didn't like the schools logo on his white shirt, the shirt may have felt a little bit tight on his body. The logo made him feel like he was some sort of property, which he isn't. He didn't like how the fabric felt to his skin, or the way the pants fit him. The darkblue tie looks weird too, but he ignores it. He looks at the clock on his wrists and notices that he's supposed to be downstairs right now. He rushes out of his room, through the long hall and down the stairs.

Once he gets into the limousine, he sighs, ”Remind me again, why we can't just take a normal car to school?” Archie says, letting his thoughts out. He can tell by his cousins sleepy eyes that he's not in the mood to talk, but he doesn't really care. ”Do you take the limo everywhere?” He asks, he cringes at the word 'limo', it makes him think of Betty.

”No, this is temporarily until our driver is back.” Jughead rolls his eyes at him, he leans his back against the seat and closes his eyes.”Now, to survive this teenage torture, I need to sleep for the rest of the ride.” He raises his pointing finger before Archie can speak again. ”It's only half an hour ride.” It's almost like Jughead could read his mind.

Archie nods, but stops as soon as he realizes that Jughead can't see him. He looks out of the window and takes a deep breathe. He thinks about how funny life is, how everything changes within a year. He thinks back to his first school day last year, when he was trying to make breakfast but instead ended up almost burning down the kitchen. This year when he walked into the dining room, there was everything. Pancakes, waffles, smoothies, fruits, toasts, fresh juice. No need for him to worry about burning down the kitchen. He wonders how Jughead can be so down to earth, when his life is basically a movie. Everything is served.

The ride to school feels nice, there's no forced conversation and he can focus on other things. He looks out the window and studies the big city, he thinks it's pretty. He likes the big buildings, he likes that there's people filling the streets. He likes watching every person as they pass by, they all look so caught up in their own world. His eyes gets stuck on a man, who's dressed like a business man. He stopped in the middle of the street and he looks angry, his face is red and even though Archie can't hear him, he knows by the way his mouth moves that he's screaming to someone over the phone. It's so different from back home, he sees how people walk into each other, no one bothers to even say I'm sorry, they just carry on with their life. Back home they would've said sorry atleast ten times to each other. He reminds himself that Riverdale isn't his home anymore, he needs to stop thinking about it like home.

Jughead wakes up right in time for them to get out, Archie takes his backpack and walks out of the limousine. His eyes widen when he sees the school, he's never seen a school so big before. Yes, Riverdale High, is big too, but this school is built like a damn castle. Even the gate is beautiful, black and shiny. He sees kids, dressed just like him, walking up the stairs to the main entrance, they all look so focused and so.. sophisticated? The way their hair shines, their clothes fit perfectly to their bodies and everyone has a cup of coffee in their hand.  
”Come one, you have to meet with your guide.” Jughead sounds tired, he grabs Archies arm and pulls him through the open gate.

As they walk up the stairs to the main entrance, Archie looks around, still amazed by the view and how the school is so beautiful built. The design of the school reminds him of the ancient Greece. ”You didn't tell me this school was so big.” He lowers his voice, to make sure no one can hear him.

”Oh. I guess it is. I haven't really thought about it.” Jughead says nonchalantly.

Of course he wouldn't think about it, he's used to all this. The fancy and beautiful things of life, Archie thinks. When they walk into the school, he notices how shiny the floors are, the walls are spotless, unlike his school. The walls are light blue, the schools color Archie guesses.

Jughead guids him through the school, he helps him get to the principal office, they pick up the schedule for his classes and he feels relief when Jughead tells him that they have biology and english together. When they're done talking with the principal, and Jughead is done asking questions, like he's some sort of lawyer, they leave the principals office.

”So, your guide is Antoinette Topaz, but everyone calls her Toni.” Jughead hands him his papers. ”Try not to talk with her too much, she'll get you into some sort of trouble.” He warns him before he walks away and blends in with the crowd of people going to their classes.

Archie waits for the girl to show up for a few minutes, he's looking through his papers when he hears a voice calling his name.

”Archibald?” A short girl with pink hightlights, that oddly enough, blends in with her chocolate brown hair very well, says.

He looks up from his papers and nods, ”Archie.” He says, he tries forcing a smile to her, to seem more friendly but it doesn't end up well.

”Are you okay?” The girl asks with a light chuckle. ”I'm Toni Topaz.” She hands out her hands and Archie is quick to grab it. ”Archie.” He says.

”I got that the first time.” She says teasing him. She tucks a piece of her hair behind her ears, ”Let's start this tour then.”

The tiny little girl walks fast and is full of energy, there isn't even a second where there's an awkward silence between them. She's curious and asks a lot of questions as they walk through the empty halls. Archie answers them as simple as he can, not wanting to let her know too much about him. They've been in a lot of classrooms, his favorite so far is the music room. When he walked in he was shocked by all the instruments he saw hanging, they were all so shiny and looked new. He felt his fingers itching when he saw a black piano standing by the corner, he wanted to play, but he didn't ask. They walked into their schools recording studio and once again, he felt the urge to touch everything, to create something, but he played it off.

The walk through the entire school was exhausting, for some reason the whole school is filled with stairs and he felt like he was in Hogwarts for a brief minute. He learned that the school had it's own private pool and that Toni once pushed an annoying girl into it. He thought that the tiny girl might have some serious anger-issues, although her eyes looked so kind. Looks can be deceiving.

Their last stop on the tour is his next class, which is english.

”So, here is our last stop.” Toni informs him, ”The teacher is horrible, so make sure to always be in time for his classes.” She smiles at him. ”And good luck! If you need me, you'll find me in the library between classes.”

Archie nods, he feels like he's been noding too much when he's been with her, ”Yeah, thank you for showing me around.” He says and with that the pink haired girl walks away. He thinks about waiting for Jughead, but maybe he's already there?

After a few seconds of thinking Archie decides to just walk into the classroom, and when he does he notices how empty it is, he must be the first one here. He sits down by the row in the middle, right next to the window. He rests his chin on the palm of his hand and looks out the window, even the view from the window is beautiful. He sees the big fountain, the big trees and the birds flying around. He sees some of the birds gathering around the fountain, and he thinks it looks sweet. He's clearly lost in his thoughts, he doesn't even notice when several girls enter the classroom.

”Oh my god, are you some sort of creep?”

Archie raises an eyebrow and turns his head to the voice, notices that it's the same redhead from the club this weekend. ”What?” He manages to say, he scratches the back of his head, it's an old habit he's had since he was a little child, he does this when he feels nervous or when he feels that he's been called out on something.

The raven haired girl walks into the classroom and she must be as suprised as him when she sees him, her books fall to the floor and her friend is quick to pick them up for her.

”He's clearly stalking you, Veronica.” Cheryls voice sounds even more annoying than he remembers. She rolls her eyes and take the seat in the front row.

Veronica doesn't answer Cheryl, she thanks her other friend for picking up her books and then she takes them, she holds them tight to her chest, as if she's scared she'd let them fall again. ”I didn't catch your name before.” Her voice sounds more steady and clear than what he can remember.

”You didn't ask.” Archie answers, it's not meant to sound rude, but it does and he clears his throat. ”Archie.” He quickly says.

Veronica walks over to his desk, ”You're right. I didn't.” She smiles. ” _Archie_.” The way she says it makes it look like she's tasting his name, deciding whether or not she likes it.

Archie hopes she does.

”I like it.” She finally says. ”I'm Veronica.” She introduces herself. ”Is the seat next to you available?” Her voice is soft and Archie finds himself liking the tone of her voice.

”No.” Jughead says right behind her. He walks over to the other side of the desk and takes the seat.

Veronica scrunches her nose, ”Always suck a kill-joy, Jones.” She says, her voice doesn't sound as soft anymore, it sounds toneless, like there's no emotions behind it. ”I'll see you around, _Archie_.” She smiles at him again before she walks over to her group of friends.

Archie watches the way she walks, he can tell by the her movements and how she swings her hips that she's confident in herself. She's upright and she isn't afraid to look someone in the eyes when she's talking, usually it would make him uncomfortable, but there's something in her eyes that makes him feel like she's no stranger to him, something feels familiar with her. It feels like they've met already, and he's not thinking about this weekend, he feels as if they've met in another life.

”Are you done daydreaming?” Jughead says playing with the pencil in his hand.

Archie looks over Jughead and rolls his eyes, ”Only when you're done undressing Betty with your eyes each time she comes over.” He says, it's a joke, but sometimes Archie really wonders if that's what he's doing when Jughead stares at the blonde girl.

Jughead chuckles and shakes his head, ”I don't do that.” He defends himself. ”Besides, you made a promise.” He says, sounding pleased with himself.

Archie shrugs and looks over to the front of the classroom when the teacher walks in and starts their lession. The first half of the lession goes by quick, he has to take several notes on what authors to check out, he takes notes on some of the most famous books in literature, and he sighs at the fact that he does not know anything about what they're talking about. It's the fact that he knows that it sounds like english, and he thinks he understands it, but when people raise their hands and speak, he has no idea on what they're saying or what they're referring to. He sits frustrated the rest of the class, wonders if he's ever going to catch up with them. He lets down of his pencil and looks out the window again, watches the birds flying around and finds himself getting calm again.

The bell suddenly rings and he hears the teacher dismiss them. He hears the chairs getting pulled back and he looks over to Jughead, who's already ready to leave.  
”That went by fast.” Jughead gathers his books and puts them into his backpack. ”Did you think it was hard?” He asks.

”Kind of, was that really english?” Archie asks, it makes Jughead laugh, and he rolls his eyes at him. ”I'm serious, that sounded like latin or something.” He says, he doesn't like feeling like a fool.

”My dad will get you a private tutor.” Jughead claps him on the shoulder, ”Now let's go.” He says as he starts walking to exit of the classroom.

Archie follows him out of the classroom, ”No, I just need to study.” He says, he doesn't want his uncle to pay extra for a tutor, the fact that he's even taken him in and paid for this expensive school is enough. ”You got that meeting after school right?” He asks, and Jughead nods. ”I think I'll go to the library and study while you're doing your thing.” He says.

”Yeah, that would be great. I'll come by when I'm done.” Jughead says.

Archie sees Betty coming their way and he can already feel his ears bleading, ”Anyways, I better get to my spanish class now. I'll see you later.” He dismisses himself, right in time to dodge Betty and all her million questions about school and how it's been.

As he's walking through the long and crowded hallway, he asks himself, how has his first day at school been? He can't tell if it's been good or bad, most part of the day was spent with Toni and seeing the school, he met one guy on the tour, his name was Reggie. He asked him if he's ever played football, he said he had the right body for it and that he should try out. He didn't seem as excited when Archie told him that he used to be captain back in his old school. Overall he thought that Reggie seemed like a nice guy, although he gave him a weird look when he introduced himself. Archie decides that it's been a good day. After all, nothing bad has happened.

Archie walks into his spanish class, the room is half full but there's a seat in the backrow and he walks right over there. He gets seated and leans towards the wall with his chair, it feels nice being in the back for once. In the background.

…

Archie walks out of his last class for the day and heads right away to the library, if there's something he has learned from today, is the fact that he needs to study more. Spanish class had been a torture, these kids spoke it almost fluently and there he was, being able to say 'Hi my name is Archie and I like the color green.' He opens the door to the library and walks in.

The library is big and has three floors, he doesn't really understand why any library would need so much space. There's tons of books everywhere, the lighting in the library is strong and it wakes his mind up. There's small study-rooms in which the student use for group projects, of course it's sound-proof so it can't disturb the other students outside. He thinks about going into one of the group rooms, but he notices they're all taken. He sighs and searches for another spot to study, but every other table is taken. He walks over to the stairs and makes his way up, he figures that since this library is so big there must be a place for him to study on either the second or third floor. As his eyes are searching for a free spot his eyes meet Veronicas. She waves her hand eagerily and then proceeds to point towards the empty chair infront of her. She's sitting by a big window, the light hits her perfectly and her smile looks even brighter than it did back in english class.

It's better than nothing, he thinks.

He walks over to her and pulls out the chair, ”Hey.” He says, taking the seat and opening his backpack. He wants to ask her if she's doing okay after what nearly happened to her, but when she doesn't mention it he thinks that she doesn't want to talk about it. As he's getting seated he thinks about Jughead and how he would lose his mind if he knew that he was sitting with Veronica, or as he calls her, the devils offspring.

Veronicas arms are resting on the pages of her books, she's holding a pencil in her hand but lets it go when Archie approaches, ”Hey stranger.” She smiles at him and pulls up her glasses to her head, ”Where's your shadow?” She asks, referring to Jughead. She looks behind him and then back to him.

Archie doesn't like the way she refers to Jughead, but he doesn't have the energy to fight her about it, ”Meeting.” He answers short and coldly, tries giving her a hint that he doesn't like those kind of jokes. He pulls up his notes and books. ”Where are your ducklings?” He asks, referring to her girl squad that he knows follows her everywhere.

”Funny and handsome.” Veronica chuckles. This is the first time Archie has ever heard her laugh, and he's glad that it isn't one of those annoyingly too loud laughs, ”They left early.” She answers him.

Archie ignores the fact that she just called him handsome, ”What a shame, I was really looking forward to be called a creep again.” He says and Veronica chuckles at his bad joke. ”What are you studying?” He asks her, not that he cares, he just doesn't want there to be any awkward silence between them.

Although, he finds it's hard to believe that she would ever let anything become awkward, she seems like a very social and polite girl, like she knows exactly what to say in every situation.

Veronica sighs, ”History.” She answers. ”It's sooo boooring, who cares about these people anyways? They're dead.” She says rolling her eyes, and the way she dramatically drags out her words reminds him of Jughead.

”I actually like history.” Archie says, picking up a pencil. ”It's interesting.” He adds. There's a lot of things that he loves about history, and one of them is the fact that it somehow repeats itself, even though the people in the story know the outcome.

Veronica shakes her head, ”So you like reading about dead people, huh?” She says, clearly teasing him, she doesn't let him answer and goes on, ”What are you studying?” She tilts her head to the side as she's waiting for him to answer. Her dark her falls to the other side and he notices the shiny earrings she's wearing.

They look expensive, probably worth more than his whole life.

”Spanish.” And this time Archie sighs, he continues, ”It's sooo boring.” He says, he tries making his voice as high pitched as Veronicas.

”I do not sound like that!” Veronica says, ”Y ademas, a mí no me parece aburrído.” Archies eyes widen at two things; the perfect pronunciation and at the fact that he has no clue of what she just said. It sounded pretty though. ”I'm fluent.” She blinks with one of her eyes, and there it is again, her confidence. ”I could help you, if you want to?”

Archie thinks about telling her yes, he's actually desperate for help, but then Jugheads voice echoes in the back of his mind.

” _Stay away from her.”_

” _She's bad news.”_

”I'll ask you if I need some.” He says, he looks around the library, looks for an empty seat, it's not that he doesn't like her, she's friendly and he could use a friend here, but the promise to Jughead is more important to him.

Veronica pulls down her glasses again, she takes the pink highlighter in her hand, ”Okay.” Her voice is soft and soothing. She grabs her note-book and starts high-lighting certain parts.

Archie watches her for a few seconds, he wonders where the mean girl that Jughead has described is hiding, she doesn't seem bad, not yet. He reminds himself that he's only met her two times and one of the times he helped her out of a bad situation. Maybe she hasn't acted like a mean girl, because he hasn't given her a reason to? Maybe Jughead was over doing it?

He has never been the one to listen to gossip, he's been taught to never judge a person before you've given the chance to get to know them personally. He likes forming his own opinions and thoughts on people and things, he doesn't like feeling like he's being brainwashed. He opens his book and starts studying.

It's been twenty minutes of studying whn he hears her humming along to a song, he thinks it sounds beautiful and he can't help but clear his throat and ask her if she sings, she has the voice for it.

”For myself, yes.” Veronica says, pulling up her glasses again, she lets go of her pencil and looks into his eyes. ”I love art and music, I'm obsessed with Broadway.” She tells him and her eyes light up just by the mention of it, he can feel it too. When someone is passioned about something and they speak about it, there's a certain glow that fills them. ”Ever since I was a little girl, I've just been obsessed with everything that has to do with music, acting, singing, dancing, you know?” Archie nods, he understands her. Not the acting and dancing part though, he's never been good at it.

Veronica shakes her head, ”I'm sorry if I'm just rambeling. It's jus-”

”Your passion.” Archie fills in and she smiles at him, a genuine smile. ”No, I totally get it.” He says. ”I love writing songs, playing instruments and creating sounds.” He tells her.

”Do you sing?” She asks him, her eyes look curious to know.

Archie feels shy all of a sudden, like he's undressing himself for her in a weird way. It's not such a big deal if he sings, he shouldn't feel shy about telling her. ”Yes.” He answers and looks away, doesn't want to meet her eyes. He feels like he's being judged by her and he awaits for the teasing to start.

”Sing for me.” Her words suprises him, in a good way, she doesn't sound judgemental at all, she sounds supportive of it, and that's something he isn't used to.

Archie shakes his head, ”No way. We're in a library.” He says looking around and seeing all the people studying. This isn't High School Musical, he thinks to himself.

”So?” Veronica says, she raises one of her eyebrowns, she looks confused, like he's being crazy for not wanting to sing in a quiet library.

”We're supposed to be quiet.” Archie reminds her.

Veronica has a playful smile on her lips, she leans closer to him, not breaking eye-contact, ”Don't you think breaking the rules is a little bit fun, sometimes?” She asks, she pulls the bottom of her lips between her teeths.

He feels intimidated by her in this moment, her eyes are digging into his and he feels as if she's looking through him. He swallows hard before answering, ”Bad girl, huh?” He says, he can feel his voice shaking a little bit, sounding unsure of himself, he hopes Veronica ignores it, and she does. Instead of teasing him for being the little nervous kid that he is, she shrugs, ”I just love a good time.” She answers with the same smile, she leans back to her chair. ”What's life if you aren't living it to it's fullest?” She asks him.

Archie knows the answer, it's a safe life. A safe life is when you live your life like society expects you to do and it's boring. You wake up every morning and do the same thing, over and over again. It's grey, empty, simple and boring. It reminds him of how he's been living recently, like there's no point in what he does or thinks. He doesn't look forward to anything, he just does what he's expected to do.

”Safe.” He answers her.

Veronica looks at him for a few seconds, looks like she's thinking about what to say, or maybe she agrees with him. ”Life shouldn't be safe.” She says after moments of silence. ”Life should be everything but safe.”

”Why?” He asks, curious to know what's in her mind. He finds it odd how they're really just strangers to each other, from two different worlds, but here they are, engaging in such a serious topic that life is. It doesn't feel wrong though, like he would've thought. There's something about her being that's so comforting to him, again, like she's no stranger to him.

”Because.” She starts, she sits upright and folds her arms. ”There's so much in this world, so much to explore and see, so much to learn about, if you're willing to. There's no need to live in a black and white world, when there's so many beautiful colors.”

The light hits her face perfectly when she says it, her dark eyes turn into a beautiful color of golden brown and her hair looks lighter, more full of life, her lips are a light color of red and her lipstick looks a little bit smudged, in this moment she looks and feels real to him, and it's been awhile since he's been able to tell reality from fantasy.

He doesn't like it, not at all.

”Colors are overrated.” Archie hears a voice right behind him say, at first it makes him jump a little bit from his chair, the voice sounds familiar but he can't put a face to it. He turns his head and finds the same boy from earlier standing there, his hair is wet and his cheeks are red.

”Practice?” Archie asks and the boy nods.

”I forgot to tell you, but there's going to be try-outs tomorrow, you should come by.” Reggie says. ”It's after school.” He has a friendly smile on his lips, but there's something about his eyes that doesn't seem right to Archie. They're not as friendly as his smile.

”I'll come by.” Archie says, he had already decided that he was trying out, anyways. He turns his head back to Veronica and he notices the way her fingers are playing with her hair that is back to being dark, there's a flirtatious smile on her lips.

”I'm counting on it, don't let me down.” Reggie has the same smile as he looks over to Veronica, ”Are you ready to leave, beautiful?” He asks her softly, seems careful with his words.

Veronica nods and closes her books, ”Always.” She says. ”It's been a pleasure studying with you, Archie.” She says when she gets up from her chair, Archie looks at her and he notices that her skirt has gone up a bit, her skin looks so smooth and tanned. She corrects her skirt as soon as she notices and gives Archie a smile, he feels his cheeks burning and looks away, he shouldn't had stared like that at her.

It's just legs.

”You too.” Archie says, his eyes keep going back and forth between her and Reggie, there's something in the way that they look at each other, that gives him the impression that they aren't' just friends.

Reggie takes Veronicas bag in his hand, ”I'll see you tomorrow.” He says before walking away with Veronica.

Archie watches them as they're leaving, he looks at the way Reggie puts his arm around Veronicas waist, how he pulls her closer to her, he can see in the way she raises her eyebrow that she doesn't like it, and he's fast to let go off her. They both laugh at something he says, and then suddenly Reggie turns his head and their eyes meet, he smiles again. But it isn't that warm, kind and welcoming smile he's seen before.

His smile looks wicked and his eyes look like they're carrying a secret, and it gives him the feeling that maybe Reggie knows more than he's letting go, and that he's just waiting for the right time to drop the bomb and destroy him.

But here's the thing about secrets; We all have them, big or small. We keep the really ugly ones to ourselves, afraid that someone will see us for who we are and leave us, but it doesn't matter how hard we try to keep them in the dark. The big and juicy ones always find a way out into the lights, they can't stay hidden for too long, and once they come forward, they destroy everything you've built.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've read all of your comments and I'm so happy that you guys are liking this fic so far! I love how some of you are getting the gossipgirl vibe, I feel like I'm really delievering!
> 
> I appreciate every kudos and comment I get!
> 
> Aaaand, if you want to chat about riverdale, varchie or anything, feel free to message me on tumblr; ronniespearl  
> and twitter: @ ronniesdiary


	4. the return of an evil man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica stands right beside him, and she watches the way Archie looks at himself in the mirror, she gets the feeling that he doesn't recognize himself, it looks as if he's looking at a stranger in the mirror. She can't tell if he's shocked by the blood or if there's something else going on that she isn't aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A little shorter chapter, but I actually think this is one of my favorite chapters. :')

Archies second day of going to his new school went pretty decent. He got to school in time with Jughead but they both went seperate ways when he had algebra and Jughead was heading to his other class, Archie couldn't really remember what it was. He wanted to punch himself in the face when he let Betty take the seat next to him, the whole class was spent by her asking a bunch of questions.

  
_”Do you like it here?”_

” _Have you seen any hot girls?”  
”What other classes do you have?”_

” _Are you trying out for the football team today?”_

” _Is your hair natural red?”_

” _Can I touch it?”_

” _Why not?”_

By the end of the class her voice was pretty much echoing in his head, giving him a terrible headache. He tried being polite and answering her questions, but with every answer came another question, and another. The rest of the day was okay, atleast he didn't have to listens to Bettys highpitched voice. What wasn't as easy was trying out for the football team by the end of the day.

When Archie imagined himself trying out for the football team, he had no idea that these were the type of guys who didn't play according to the rules. It almost felt like every guy on the team was making sure that he wouldn't make it. Tackling him when they didn't have to, which lead coach to blow the whistle, running into him hard enough for him to lose balance and focus, but Archie has never been the one to lose, so he wasn't really suprised when coach announced that he made it into the team. Coach was the only one who even seemed excited about it. Reggie and the rest of the team didn't say much.

Practice ended and all the boys went back to the locker room to shower and then go home.

Archie's half dressed and is only missing his shirt when he sees Reggie coming out of the shower, his hair is wet and messy, he's wearing a white towel around his waist.

”Enjoying the view, Andrews?” He hears Chuck's voice behind him, teasing him.

Archie looks over to Chuck, he glares at him and the stupid grin on his face disappears, just like Archie wanted to. He needs to make it clear that he isn't one of those puppets they can mess around is.

Reggie runs a hand through his wet hair, ”He sure is.” He walks over to his locker that is right next to Archie, before opening it he smiles at Archie, ”Congratulations on making it into the team, man.” He lightly hits him on the shoulder, and it almost seems friendly. It's just his eyes that don't look so friendly.

”Thanks, _man_.” Archie says it just like Reggie does, he pulls his white shirt over his head and hopes that the boys aren't in a talking mood, he doesn't have time for them.

Reggie closes his locker again and leans towards it, his eyes are searching for Archie and when Archie doesn't turn his face, he clears his throat.  
  
”Yes?” Archie meets his gaze, he raises an eyebrow and waits for the boy to continue.

Reggies wicked smile is back on his lips, ”I had been watching you and Veronica for a little while before approaching you.” He tells Archie.

Archie waits for him to continue, although he does find it creepy that Reggie was maybe stalking them for a brief moment.

”I noticed that she isn't as rude as she usually is with people, she seems more friendly with you.” Reggie says before taking a dramatically pause. ”What do you have on her?” He says with a chuckle, tries getting the tension in the air to become more relazed. His eyes are big, he reminds him of a little kid on chrimstas eve, waiting for their presents.

Archie shakes his head, ”No, I don't got anything on her.” He says with all honesty, he doesn't even break eye-contact with Reggie. ”But _if_ I did, what would you care for?” He says, suddenly curious to know why Reggie cares so much about Veronicas secrets.

”I don't.” Reggies voice goes higher, clearly giving him out as a liar. He clears his throat again, ”I'm just curious to know.” He says.

Archie wants to laugh in his face, wants to tell him that he sounds like a pathetic little boy, but he doesn't. ” _If_ I did have something on her, I would keep it to myself. A secret is better when it's shared between two people.” He says and he can tell that Reggie doesn't like that answer. Which only makes it funnier.

”So do you have something on her or not? I'm confused.” Chuck finally speaks, he's about to continue but Reggie glares at him before going back to Archie.

”I don't.” Archie says with all honesty and he doesn't understand the confusion. So what if Veronica has been nice to him two times?

Reggie watches Archies moves, ”That's boring.” He finally says, but the way he's staring at Archie makes him believe that he doesn't buy this at all. ”Moving on then.” He says opening his locker again. ”Every year I host a little small pool-party it's a time for us to bond and shit.” He tells him. ”And since you just made it into the team, you should come. The cheerleading squad will be there too, and you'll be happy to know Veronica is a cheerleader.” He stops what he's doing to see Archie and gives him a big and a little creepy smile.

Archie leans towards his locker and doesn't even move his face and inch when he mentions her name, ”Okay?” He says.

”You can't bring that weird kid with you.” Chuck says. ”Jughead or what ever his name is.”

Archie's first instinct is to tell him to shut the fuck up and don't reffer to Jughead as the 'weird kid', but he takes a deep breathe instead. ”Why not?” He says, he can feel himself already getting annoyed with the two of them and if they don't shut up anytime soon, he will smash their heads into the lockers.

”Inner circle only?” Chuck says, the tone of his voice telling him that it's obvious for some reason. Archie remembers that Reggie said football team and feels a little bit dumb.

Chuck rolls his eyes. ”It's this saturday, so if you got any plans, just cancel them.” He says and sounds confident, confident that Archie would change his plan for some stupid teenage party. Reggie stands right next to him and nods, agreeing with Chuck.

Archie looks at the both of them, ”I can't cancel my plans because some dumb football players want me to?” He says. ”I can't come, I'll come to your next inner circle meeting.” He says, there's a tone of sarcasm in his voice and Reggie rolls his eyes.

”If you change your mind, you'll know where to find me and the rest of the team.” Reggie says before turning around to face Chuck.

Archie shrugs and leaves the room.

…

”You have to go!” Jughead says as they're on their way to Archies locker, they were supposed to be on their way home right now, but Archie forgot a book in his locker and had to get it. ”You need to get out there.” He sounds just like his uncle did this summer.

Archie sighs deeply, he scratches the back of his head, ”I don't know..” He says, sounding unsure of himself. ”I feel like they're setting me up.”

Jughead shakes his head, ”You're literally their team-mate, they just want to get to know you. It's normal.” He tries convincing Archie. ”Besides, you need to get more friend. You only have me, and that's tragic.” He tries joking.

”I'm good.” Archie says, he can hear Jughead rambling on reasons why he should go, and why he needs friends, but he decides to ignore it. Shuts him out for a little while. They're almost by his locker when he feels someone grabbing the back of his shirt, he gets turned around and he feels his body getting slammed into the locker behind him. ”Wha-” He sees the boy with curly hair and blue eyes standing infront of him, his eyes are dark and his fists is in the air. He's quick to grab Nick's arm and stops him from punching him.

”Oh, you want a re-match, big boy?” Archie says, and as he does Nicks get his arm out of his grip and he feels his fist against his cheek.

And there is the feeling he's missed so much, the feeling of feeling his blood rushing through his body, his heart beating fast. He used to get into fights all the time to get this feeling, to get the feeling of being alive. Acting out on insticts.

Archie can feel his head spinning now, he can taste the blood in his mouth, he curls his fingers into a fist and he hits Nick fast and hard, right on his left eye. The hit makes Nick take a step back and it gives him the perfect opportunity to tackle him down on the floor. He feels the anger inside of him boiling along with his blood, and with every hit he can feel himself releasing his anger, and it feels good.

Nick isn't as weak as he looks, he manages to dodge a couple of hits, he even manages roll over and get Archie on the floor instead.

”Oh, you're so dead!” The blood is running through his mouth, he grabs Archies head and smashes it onto the floor several times.

At this point the whole school has gathered around them to watch the fight, no one does anything until he hears a soft voice, it's a girls voice, it's sounds far away but he can't get a face to it.

”Get off him!”

”Reggie, do something!”

It's Veronica.

Archie manages to collect some strenght to push Nick off him, and as he does Reggie grabs Nick and pushes him into the wall. ”What the fuck is wrong with you?” He screams into his face, and right after that he helps Archie up.

”Next time, you're fucking dead!” Nick screams behind them.

As they're leaving the hall Archie can feel the adrenaline leaving his body, he's back to feeling pain, and for every breathe he takes, he feels his ribs hurting. He can't remember if Nick hit him there, the fight was too fast and he usually blacks out during fights. Reggie walks him into the toilet and opens one stall for him, he helps Archie sit down.

”You didn't have to-” Archie tries telling him that there was no need for him to get into that fight, he was fine by himself.

”Yes I did.” Reggie says. ”I don't know what happened, but I got your back.” He says, he grabs a bunch of paper into his hands and opens the tap, he lets the water run.

The door opens and Reggie looks like he's ready to fight, but Archie notices how soft his eyes turn, his body getting more relaxed, and that's when Veronica shows up.

”Oh my god..” Her mouth is wide open as she inspects Archies face, ”It's not bad, but you're covered in blood.” She says, she looks over to Reggie. ”You keep extra shirts in your locker, right?” She asks.

Reggie nods, ”Yeah, I'll get him a clean shirt.” He says, already knowing what she was going to ask. He leaves the toilet and it's just the two of them there.

An awkward silence fills the room, Archie doesn't want to look at her, and she cannot stop looking at him. ”I'm sorry.” She says, biting the bottom of her lip. ”I didn't know he was going to come here, he doesn't even go here.” She shakes her head. ”I don't even know how he knew that you went here, he doesn't even go he-” Archie cuts her off, her words are coming out too fast and it's giving him an even worse headache.

”It's fine.” Archie says, the spinning has stopped and his vision is as clear as day. He can see the way Veronicas fingers play nervously with her pearl necklace, she looks worried and slightly terrified. But he can tell that she isn't worried about him, and he realizes why Veronica told Reggie to go away. ”You thought I would tell Reggie why that guy came onto me.” He says.

Veronicas eyes widen, and they confirm his thoughts, that yes, she was scared that he would go on and tell someone. ”No.” She sounds sure of herself, but Archie knows better. ”I was-”

”You were making sure that I wasn't letting something slip.” Archie says, he gets up on his feets and walks over to the sink. He looks himself in the mirror, notices the blood that has dried on his skin, notices how bloody his knuckles are, and then he meets his own eyes.

Veronica stands right beside him, and she watches the way Archie looks at himself in the mirror, she gets the feeling that he doesn't recognize himself, it looks as if he's looking at a stranger in the mirror. She can't tell if he's shocked by the blood or if there's something else going on that she isn't aware of.

”Is that why you've been so nice to me? 'Cause you're scared I'm going to run away and tell everyone?” Archie asks. ”You don't have to be fake with me, you could've just told me from the start.” He tells her, still not looking her way.

”Why wouldn't you tell anyone?”

Archie meets her eyes in the mirror, and he notices how tense she looks, not moving a bit, her eyes not letting him out of sight, not even for a second. ”It's not my story to tell.” He says.

”So, what are you going to say when people ask you why he came onto you?” She asks, her voice sounds fragile, sounds ready to break in any moment. ”And don't tell me that you don't know.” It sounds more like she's begging him than giving him an order.

”Who cares, Veronica?” Archie says, he has bigger problems right now than what he's going to tell people. ”You already did your damage control, get ouf of here.” He says, his tone is harsh and he raises his voice. He's not mad at her, but the pain in his body is making him act out. He can feel the anger inside of him boiling, the need of breaking something but the pain in his knuckles stops him.

Veronica snorts, ”You don't talk to me like that.” She says, he can hear the frustration in her voice, and if he wasn't in such pain, he'd push her out of the toilet himself.  
  
”I talk to you how ever I want.” Archie says, he feels his head spinning again, his jaw hurting as he's speaking.

”No, you don't.” Veronica says. ”I've been kind to you, don't make me turn on you.”

Archie looks over to her, he notices that her cheeks are turning red, the vein in the middle of her forhead starts to throb and her jaw is clenching. She's angry, and if he wasn't in so much pain, he'd laugh at her. She really has the nerve to be angry right now?

Veronica takes a step closer to him, her eyes are as dark as the night, her eyebrows are facing down, pushed together, making her look like a little kid who's just been told no, ”You better come up with something good, or I'll have you running back to what ever smalltown you're from, by the end of this year.” Her voice is emotionelss and he can see her curling her hand into a fist.

”Is that a threat?” Archie asks.

”You choose.” She says, her voice is still as emotionless but her body looks more relaxed, like a burden has been lift off her shoulder. She smiles softly at him, he feels her thumb against the corner of his mouth when she wipes away the blood. ”You better take care of that, _Archiekins._ ” She turns her heel and walks out of the toilet, her heels against the floor makes a noise that makes his stomach turn.

What just happened?

..

The way home with Jughead felt awkward, Archie could tell that Jughead had like a million questions, and the way Jughead was staring at him made him want to disappear. He suddenly felt ashamed of himself, he felt as if he had done something bad and been caught. He was just happy that FP was out of town for business, and wouldn't be home for two more weeks.  
  
As soon as the two boys stepped inside the house, Jughead couldn't stop himself, ”Why did that guy punch you?” He asks, he's never had any filters.

Archie rolls his eyes, wonders why on earth he has to be this way, ”Why didn't you do anything?” He asks, not that he cares, if Jughead would've gone into that fight he would've gotten his ass kicked. He's too small.

”I tried, but his friend pushed me away.” Jughead says, his cheeks turning red and he looks down to the floor, looks embarrassed. ”I'm sorry.”

Archie doesn't answer him, he walks into the big livingroom and Jughead follows him, like a lost puppy. He knows that he wants a storytime, he knows Jughead too well, knows that he won't go to bed until he gets a real reason as to why he almost got his ass kicked. ”I had some argument with him in the toilet, when we went to that club thing.” He says. ”I guess he didn't like it.”

Jughead nods, he takes off the grey beanie and sits down, ”That's Nick St Clair.” He says. ”He got expelled from Spence last year.”

”Why?” Archie asks, he sits down by the end of the couch and turns on the TV.

”No one knows.” Jughead shrugs, he doesn't seem to care about it.

Archie looks over to Jughead, ”Tell me about Veronica.” The girl has left him wondering a lot, and all he's been told so far is that she's mean. But he knows there's more to her, there has to be it.

The way she spoke in the library makes him believe that. But the girl in the library and the girl today seem to be two completly different people, and it has him intrigued.

Jughead takes a deep breathe, he runs a hand through his dark thick hair, ”What do you want to know?” He asks.

Archie shrugs, ”Never mind.” He says, he figures that it'll be his own little mission to crack the code that is Veronica Lodge.

That little mission would come to change a lot in his world, it would come to turn his life around. It would be an adventure for the books. It would be an adventure, that would bring him back to life again.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, if you want to chat with me about this fic, riverdale, varchie oooor anything,, feel free to message me on tumblr; ronniespearl
> 
> twitter; @ ronniesdiary


	5. extra dirty

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Veronica shakes her head and laughs at Cheryl, ”It's Archie.” She says softly. She's been thinking about him alot, which she thinks is crazy, she doesn't even know him. But he hasn't left her mind since last weekend, and she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him in the classroom the first week of school.

Veronica is sitting on Josies bed, she's resting her head on one of her fluffy pillows as she's going through one of the many magazines laying on the bed. She rolls her eyes at the pictures, all the girls on the pages have the same hair, the same clothes, everything is identical. She closes the magazine and waits for Josie to come back.

It's saturday and they're supposed to be at Reggies in a couple of minutes, the annual pool-party is happening today, and Josie asked her to come by to help her choose what to wear.

Cheryl walks into the room, her hair is perfectly curled and she's wearing the same red lipstick that she always wears. ”Where's Josie?” She asks looking around the room.   
  
”Hello, to you too.” Veronica gets up from the bed and walks over to Josies little make up corner, she sits down and looks herself in the mirror. She opens a draw and looks for a dark red lipstick to put on her lips, she likes the way it looks with her tanned skin. ”She's changing, she can't really decide what to wear for the poolparty.” She applies the lipstick on her lips and plumps them.

Cheryl nods and sits down by the end of the bed, ”How does _that_ feel? Is everything okay between you and him?” She asks carefully, doesn't want to step on a landmine.

Josie walks into the room, she's wearing a yellow bathing suit, it's tight to her body and has a deep low cut, the yellow combined with her dark skintone makes her look gorgeous. ”Do I look good?” She asks.

Veronica sees that Cheryl has almost drops her jaw, and she looks in awe. ”Lovely.” Veronica says with a warm smile. ”You have to wear that.”

Josie walks over to the big mirror in her room, she looks at herself in the mirror and does some spins, ”What do you think, Cheryl? You haven't said anything.” She sounds unsure of herself, she turns her head to look at Cheryl.

”Yeah, Cheryl, what do you think?” Veronica teases her, she's not blind. She's known about her crush on Josie for a long time now, ”Doesn't she look gorgeous?”

Cheryl clears hers throat and nods, ”Amazing, Josie.” She says and looks away.

”Thank you.” Josie smiles at the both of them. She looks at herself in the mirror one last time, ”Can we talk about you and Reggie now? What's going on?” She asks. The one question she knows her friends have been dying to ask her, but haven't dared to.

Cheryl looks over to Veronica, ”I can't believe you turned down his invitation to Rome this summer. That was really rude.” She says.

Veronica shrugs, doesn't care if it was rude or not. She's not going to do something she doesn't want to, just so she doesn't hurt anyones feelings. ”Rome is boring. I'm more of a Paris girl.” She says and both girls giggle.

”And Ibiza, clearly.” Josie points out, and her maid walks in with a silver plate with three dirty martinis for the girls. Josie smiles at her as she takes hers into her hand, ”Rumour has it that Reggie took some other girl with him.” She says.

”Thank you.” Veronica smiles as she takes the martini, she takes a sip from it. She lets the girls wait for her answer, she knows for a fact that Reggie didn't bring anyone with him. He's stupid, but he's not that stupid, and even if he did. No one can compare to her, and that satisfies her. ”Don't you know better than to listen to stupid gossip?” She says, rolling her eyes. ”Either way, Reggie and I are friends, and I plan on keeping it that way.” She says.

She used to think that Reggie was _the_ one, her soulmate, her best friend, and he was some of it for her. He was the one she turned to when things got heavy, the only shoulder she trusted enough to cry on. He knew her, inside and out, but he never made her feel those butterflies, never made her feel like there was fireworks when they kissed. She didn't have those feelings for him.

Only God knows how much she wished for her to have those feelings, to feel anything, for anyone.

”How are you and Chuck?” She asks Cheryl instead, she never really understood how the two of them even worked as a couple. He was pretty much everything Cheryl hated.

Cheryl smiles big, ”Amazing.” She by the tone of her voice and her smile, she sounds and looks happy. ”He's been so nice, my family really loves him after we went to the Hamptons.” She sounds excited, and if it wasn't for the big smile and the eyes that are shining, Veronica would've said it was fake.

”I'm happy for you two.” Josie says and means it. She's been their biggest supporter. ”I'm going to get dressed, I'll be back.” She leaves the room.

Cheryl pulls up a little mirror from her bag, she looks herself in it and pulls up her red lipstick, ”That Archey guy-” She applies the lipstick on her lips.

Veronica shakes her head and laughs at Cheryl, ”It's Archie.” She says softly. She's been thinking about him alot, which she thinks is crazy, she doesn't even know him. But he hasn't left her mind since last weekend, and she felt her heart skip a beat when she saw him in the classroom the first week of school.

Cheryl rolls her eyes, like she always does when someone corrects her, ”That's a weird name.” She says, she puts on the cover of her lipstick and opens her little red chanel bag. ”He's cute.” She says as she's putting her lipstick back in her bag.

Veronica nods, she does think he's cute. She's been tempted to touch his hair, it looks so soft and the freckles on his face makes him look adorable. ”I guess he is.”

”I've seen Betty around him a lot.”

”Betty, huh?” Veronica says, the memories of her and Betty flashes through her mind. The girl with the perfect blonde girl, with the ocean blue eyes, the perfect smile that would have every boy on their knees. Her bestfriend. The same girl who went behind her back and made her look like a fool. She tried forgiving her, tried saving their friendship, but as soon as she did, another bomb came to destroy what she'd built.

Cheryl looks at her with a soft smile, like she can read her mind, like she knows what Veronica is feeling and thinking, and she feels bad for it. Because, she knows how much Veronica valued their friendship.

”Are we ready to go, ladies?” Josie steps into the room, all dressed up and ready to go to the pool-party.

Veronica nods and gets up from the chair, ”Let's have some fun, shall we?” She smiles at both girls.

…

Reggies pool-parties are legendary, usually it's their small circle gathering together, but this year word got around and somehow everyone at school has gotten here. There's people everywhere, most people are by the out-door bar and drinking, their inner circle have all gathered by the hottub and it looks like they're having fun. The dj is blasting the music through the speakers, and that combined with the sound of laugh, peoples screams as their being pushed into the pool, is creating a fun vibe. A light mood.

Veronica is sipping on her dry martini, she's sitting next to Reggie and his arm is around her shoulders, she can hear Chuck in the background telling some crazy story about a girl he met this summer in Greece, she hears the laugh of the others but all she can think about is if Archie is coming tonight. The boy with red hair has really caught her interest after their last encounter. He's challenging and he's not easy, and she likes it. Likes not knowing what comes next.

”Bored?” Reggie says, clearling catching up to her disinterest in Chucks story.

Veronica shakes her head, ”Not at all, I'm really interested in knowing what Chuck did to some poor girl in Greece.” She says and the group laughs.

Chucks rolls his eyes, ”I've had almost forgotten how much fun you are, V.” He says, clearly annoyed with her and her little ”joke”.  
  
”Happy that I am here to remind you.” Veronica says with a big smile. ”I'm getting a refill, I'm going to need more alcohol to survive Chucks tragic life stories.” She says and gets up from the hottub.

The cold air against her skin gives her goosebumps, she walks over to one of the many sun chairs and puts on her white see-through robe, she ties it around her waist and makes her way over to the bar. She notices that the bar is full with girls trying to impress the bartender, and he's enjoying the attention he's getting. She waves her hand and he walks over to her.

”You got some fans, I see.” She says with a warm smile, and he laughs. ”I always feel like a rockstar when I'm here.” He says, his eyes are glowing and his smile is just as warm as hers.

”You worked here last year, right?” She asks, she recognizes his crystal blue eyes and his dark blonde hair.

The guy nods, ”Yes, I'm suprised you recognize me.” He chuckles.

Veronica smiles at him, ”So, what's your special?” She asks, even though she's already made up her mind on what she's drinking.

”I make a good sex on the beach.” He says with a smirk.

Veronica makes it look like she's thinking about it, she shakes her head, ”Tacky.” She says after a few seconds. ”I'll have a dirty martini.” She says. ”Make it _extra_ dirty.” She winks with one of her eyes and the guy blushes, just the reaction she wanted.

As she's waiting for her drink she looks around the place, looks at all the people and among them she catches Toni and.. Cheryl? She tilts her head to the side and watches their movement, the only time she's ever seen them together was last year. That one time she pushed Cheryl into the pool for some stupid drama, that she can't even remember. She tries reading their body language, tries seeing if there's some disagreement in their faces but it all looks normal, and then she sees them going into the house. Veronica raises an eyebrow and follows them with her eyes until she can't see them anymore.

”Your dirty martini.”

She turns around again and smiles, ”Thank you.” She says.  
”I didn't catch your name.” His voice is a little bit shaky, and he sounds insecure, like he's too scared to ask her.

”That's because I didn't give it to you.” She takes the martini and without giving him a last look, she makes her way into the house, and as soon as she steps in she hears whispering. She walks closer to where the voices is, stops right behind the wall and listens.

”I can't do this anymore!” It's Tonis voice, she's sounds exhausted and her voice is cracking, sounds like she's on the verge of tears. ”I'm not some dirty secret you can hide, Cheryl.”

”You're not, I just need some time.” It's Cheryls voice. ”You have to understand, I'm scared.”

”Of what?” Tonis voice sounds fragile, sounds ready to break in any moment.

Cheryl sighs deeply, ”What are people going to say? My mother is going to disown me, I'll lose everyone and everything.”

”You'll always have me.” Toni sounds more calm, sounds understanding. ”I love you.”

Veronicas eyes widen and her jaw drops as she hears the three words, she can't believe what she's hearing. She always knew that Cheryls relationship with Chuck was fake, but she didn't know that she was going behind his back. And what's even more shocking is the fact that she's going behind his back with Toni. She's always knew that they hated each other, she can't even remember Cheryl saying something nice about her, not even once. She shakes her head in disbelief, this all seems to crazy to be even happening. She carefully peeks in to the room and sees Cheryl and Toni locking lips. She takes a couple of steps back, doesn't know what to do. The right thing is for her to turn away and pretend like she just didn't witness this, but then she knows this would destroy Chuck, and she's been waiting for an opportunity like this.

But she can't do this to Cheryl.

…..

  
  


When Archie imagined himself coming over to a small pool-party, he didn't think there would be an open bar, a dj playing all kinds of music, that he hates. He didn't think the whole school would be here, as soon as he stepped into the big backyard he felt regret over letting Betty convience him to come. He somehow managed to let Reggie let Jughead come, and now the three of them were just standing there.

”Let's get a drink, you guys are so tense.” Betty says, she grabs both of the boys hands and makes her way over to the open-bar.

”Should we really mix alcohol with swimming?” Jughead asks, he scratches his arm and looks around. He looks out of place and his body is stiff, making him look very uncomfortable.

”Are you sure you're going to swim?” Archie asks, he knows it's a pool-party but there's no need for him to actually get into the water.

Jughead shakes his head, ”No.” He pushes his hair back again.

Betty orders drinks for them and hands them over, ”Let's go sit down by the pool, atleast.” She says, without an answer she walks away.

Archie waits for Jughead to follow her, and when he does, he follows the both of them. He looks around the crowded era, some girls from his spanish class waves at him, tells him to come over and play with them in the water. He just shakes his head, but the real surprise is when he sees Josie by the hottub.

”Archie! Archie!” A big smile on her lips, she waves eagerily for him to come over.

”I'll be over in a few!” He shouts to her, before putting his hand on Jugheads shoulder. ”I'm just going to say hi.” He says and nods towards Josie who's getting up from the hottub.

”You know Josie?” He sounds confused. ”I'll explain later.” Archie promises him before walking over to Josie.

Josie is tying her rob around her waist when he approaches her, ”You go to Spence?” She asks, she pulls him into a warm and tight hug. Rubs his back gently.

Archie hugs her back, not as tight, she feels so small in his arms, it makes him scared that he might break her. Once she lets go of him they walk over to the sun-chairs and get seated. ”I just started going there.” He answers her question.

”That's crazy!” Josie says, she puts up her hair in a messy bun. ”Valerie told me you were moving here, but she didn't tell me you would go to my school. Or, our school.” She chuckles.

Archie nods, ”I didn't tell anyone, I just said I was moving.” He says, it feels weird seeing Josie. He hasn't seen her since a year back, he used to see her all the time back when Valerie was in her band. He'd go to their gigs all the time, be the supportive boyfriend he should be.

”I'm glad to have you here.” Josie says with a warm smile. ”So, how is everything?” She asks.

Before everything went down with Valerie, Archie used to be pretty good friends with Josie. Whenever he faced troubles with Valerie, he'd call her and they'd talk about it, she would help him with simple things. She helped him get the right presents for birthdays and valentines day. It felt natural until Valerie suddenly felt jealous, that's when they started to talk less and less, and eventually Valerie left their band, they broke up and he never heard from Josie again.

”Good, how's everything with your band?” He asks, remembers what a perfectionist Josie was, she would never let the girls leave rehearsals until their sound was flawless.

”I'm a solo-artist now.” Josie says proudly. ”Melody and I still jam a lot, but we both needed our own sound., but I remember you having a passion for singing and writing too.”  
  
Archie shrugs, he looks over to the pool. ”It was all for fun.” He says.

”It was good, for what I remember.” She says softly. ”I'm sorry for what happened between you and Valerie.”

”Did you know?” He asks, looks over to her. He always wondered if all her friends knew, none of his did, or so they claimed. He feels Josie small hand on his, she shakes her head. ”No, I promise.” Her voice is soft, he can see it her eyes that feels for him.

”Andrews! You came.” Reggie voices break their little intiment moment.

Archie meets Reggies eyes, ”Nice party. I thought it was supposed to be small.”

”It was.” Reggie says, he sits down next to Josie. ”Word got around somehow.” runs his hand through his wet dark hair, ”What are you two talking about?” He asks.

”We're debating wether or not to play beerpong.” Josie says when she sees Archie shaking his head, he doesn't want Reggie to know anything about him.

Reggie smiles, ”Let's go.” He says, he gets up on his feets. ”Josie and you, against me and...” He looks around and just as he does, he catches Veronica by the bar. ”I'll grab Veronica.” He says, looks back to Archie with a playful smile.

Archie shakes his head, ”I'll pass.” He knows what Reggie is trying to do, trying to prove some stupid point that he and Veronica are a thing. It's stupid teenage drama, and he's not going to be part of it.

”Are you that afraid of losing?” Reggie asks, but Archie isn't sure if he's still referring to the beerpong.

Archie snorts, ”You're nothing to be afraid of.” He says as he's getting up on his feets. ”I'll see you around, Josie.” He says and leaves the both of them.

Betty and Jughead are sitting by the edge of the pool, both of their legs going into the pool, Kevin is standing in the pool and by the time Archie reaches them, he notices that they're all too invested talking about some documentary. Kevin doesn't understand it, but Jughead and Betty argue for it.

”Do you guys ever just watch normal tv?” Archie asks, he sits down next to Betty and lets his legs slide into the water, it feels warm and relaxing.

”That's what I'm saying!” Kevin says, waving both of his hands in the air. He splashes water onto Betty and she laughs, ”Stop it, or I'll come down there.” She threatnes him playfully.  
Kevin pretends to shake his hands, ”Oooh, scary.” He says teasing her.

Betty laughs and jumps into the pool, ”Come on guys, get in.” She says once she comes up to the surface again. She shakes her head and pulls back her hair. Kevin picks her up and throws her into the water again, and they continue playing with each other. It must seem tempting because Jughead decides to join them in the pool.

Archie doesn't feel the need to jump in with them, he feels good about sitting with just his legs in the water. He wonders if Veronica is still by the bar, he lets his eyes search for her in the crowded area. He could spot her short black shiny hair from a mile. His eyes finally founds her by the bar, just like before, she's leaning into the bar making small-talk with the bartender. He notices how the bartender cheeks turn red and she smiles, looks pleased with herself.

The black swimsuit she's wearing fits her body perfectly, and he has to force himself to look away. Instead he focuses on observing his environment. There's beach balls being thrown everywhere, people jumping in and out of the pool. Someone is floating around in a donut with a drink in their hand, and then there's couples having heavy make out seassions. Gross, he thinks. He's been sitting in silent for awhile when he feels someone splashing water onto him.

”I already sa-” Archie was convienced it was Betty and Jughead, but then he sees Veronica in the water, her black hair is wet and pushed back, the reflection of the water hits her face and she smiles. ”Said what?” She asks.

”You're confusing.” He says, just a couple of days ago she was saying that she would have him running back to Riverdale, and now she's here splashing water on him.

Veronica grabs the edge of the pool and drags her body up, she sits down next to him, ”And why is that?” She asks meeting his gaze.

Archie looks at her with a puzzled face, ”Do you not recall threatning me the other day?”

”Oh.” Veronica chuckles, ”That's ancient history.” She smiles softly at him. When he doesn't respond or look at her she goes on, ”You seem bored.”

”I am.”

”Let's get out of here.” Veronica suprises him with her words.

And before he could even answer her, he feels her tiny hand dragging him up and leading him into the mansion. ”I'm going to take you to one of my favorite places in New York, but we have to get changed first.”

They meet by the hall again, Archie notices how she's not wearing any make up, not that she needs any. She's beautiful with or without it. Her black hair is in a ponytail, and he thinks it looks adorable on her. He's never seen her with any other hair style than her hair down. She's wearing a black top with a dark purple skirt, that's tight to her body and goes down to her knees.   
  
”Ready to go, Archiekins?” Veronica says before stepping outside.

Archie nods and follows her, ”It's pretty late now. Where are you taking me?” He asks, curious to know.

”It's a suprise.” She says, and just a few seconds later her car arrives. ”You don't have to be scared. I don't bite.” She teases him.

”I have a feeling you do.” Archie teases her back, he opens the door for her and waits for her to get in.

”Only when I have to.” Veronica gets in the car and Archie gets in right after her. ”For how long have you been living here?” She asks crossing her legs.

”You have a lot of questions.” Archie points out.

”You look like you have something to hide.”

Archie leans his back to the seat, ”A couple of months.” He answers her question. ”Why didn't you stay at the party?” He asks her.

Veronica shrugs, ”I felt like going on an adventure tonight.”

..

Of course this would be her favorite spot. They're at the top of the Empire state building, the wind blowing against his skin makes him feel cold. He puts his hands in each pocket and looks at the view.   
  
”Why?” He asks.

Veronica takes a deep breathe, her eyes not meeting his. ”It's beautiful.” She answers. ”I like coming here at night, just look at how beautiful the city looks.”

Here they are, it feels like they're at the top of the world. He's never been here before, not that he's thought about it either, but it gives him a good feeling. Watching the city, hearing the noises, watching how the lights in different buildings light up in the dark. He agrees. It's beautiful.

”Whenever I need to clear things up in my head, I come here.” Veronica tells him. She looks at him.

Archie meets her gaze, ”Did you need to clear something tonight?” He asks.

”Maybe.” Veronica answers. ”Something told me I should show you this place too.”

”Why?” He asks.

When Archie asks her why, Veronica thinks about telllng him how she's noticed that he never smiles or laughs. She knows that they don't know each other well, but she's been observing him with other people too. She's noticed how sometimes the group he's sitting with are all laughing and he's just sitting there with a blank face. Almost as if he couldn't feel anything, like he's numb to everything. He's so distant, and it makes him so different from all the people she's ever met before.

”I don't know.” She answers him instead.

Archie doesn't let go of her gaze, ”You're right. It's beautiful.”

”The view?” She asks.

Archie nods, ”Yes.” He says.

  
  


There they are, in the middle of the night, standing at the top of the building watching the city, and even though they're strangers to each others, they both can't help but feel like they've known each other for years. That night, something changed in Archie. When they both stared into each others eyes in silence, he felt the urge to kiss Veronica, he wanted to feel her lips against his, wanted to know what she tasted like. Instead he turned his head and pushed those feelings away.

This wouldn't be the first time he would push anything or anyone away.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo!!! so new chapter, what did you think of it?
> 
> if you want to talk with me about riverdale, varchie or what ever, feel free to message me on tumblr; ronniespearl  
> and twitter; @ ronniesdiary


End file.
